It's an Acquired Taste
by thecoleaderofgroupb
Summary: AU: Minho is cooking dinner for a neighbor of Newt's that consists of Korean dishes. As he's rushing to get things ready for dinner, he comes across the jar of kimchi he made earlier in the week and ponders whether he should put it out. One shot written as a challenge featuring an object and a particular character pairing. Cross posted to tumblr.


"Shuck!" Minho cursed under his breath as he dashed over to the pan cooking his meat strips. He turned them over so they would cook for a minute or two on the other side before looking over at his phone making "zoom zoom" sounds.

**Newt**

_Good luck on your date shank!_

Sent 5:13 PM

**Gally**

_I hope you're planning to eat out – no offense shank but your cooking can scare a Greenie if they've never heard of half of the stuff you made._

Sent 5:12 PM

**Frypan**

_Min! Heard about the new guy – so you wining and dining this one?_

Sent 5:11 PM

Minho put his phone down as soon as he smelled the beef and he turned off the stove, moving the strips of marinated beef onto a plate with tongs. He carried the plate over to the center of the table and placed it next to the plate of tortillas. He checked his watch as he walked to the fridge, grabbing the lettuce, cheese, and spicy pepper paste in one armful, kicking the door shut with his foot.

He washed the lettuce and tore leaves off, trying to force himself to stay focused and ignore the butterflies in his stomach. About a week ago, Minho had been helping Newt move things into Alby's apartment when he ran into a new tenant who caught the second box of things that Minho nearly dropped while climbing the stairs. Newt recognized the brown-haired, wide-eyed guy as Thomas and he introduced the pair, stating that he had helped Thomas earlier with his move-in. After multiple trips to and from the moving truck to Newt's room, Minho had discovered that this Thomas guy liked running, the indie band The Scorch Cranks, and trying new food. Somehow in the midst of staring at Thomas's moles, he found himself asking Thomas if he'd like to come over sometime to eat Korean food. Thomas suggested Wednesday at 5:20 PM and Minho had, in the meantime, scrambled to get his messy apartment in order and the menu figured out before then.

_It's not a date_, Minho told himself as he arranged the items on the table. Sure Thomas had that cute, puppy dog look going on and maybe his lips looked quite soft, but the guy never called it a date and he wasn't about to either. Yet his friends thought otherwise…

Minho scanned the table and walked back to the fridge when he remembered something. He opened the door and pulled out the jar of kimchi he made a couple of days ago. He slowly unscrewed the lid and studied the contents of it.

It looked like it was ready but he hesitated as he looked back at the fridge, then at the table. Should he? Shouldn't he? The last time he made it for his friends, Newt had made a funny face while swallowing it, Gally refused to eat something that smelled like feet, and Frypan poked at it on his plate.

He heard a knock at the door and he quickly screwed the lid back onto the jar before putting it on the table. _Oh shuck it, I'll eat it later if Thomas doesn't want it. _

"Hey Minho," Thomas said as Minho opened the door. He held up a case and Minho saw it was a Korean beer brand. "Thought these might be a good complement to the meal. Uhhh, do you even drink this stuff?"

"Yeah it's my favorite," Minho replied with a smile. He held the door open and he stepped to the side to let Thomas in. "How'd you know?"

Thomas relaxed his shoulders and he walked in, setting the beer case on the counter. "Wild guess, really." He pulled off his sneakers and he looked around the apartment. "Man, this is a nice place you got here."

"Thanks," Minho murmured as he closed the door. "Hope you're hungry."

Thomas nodded as he walked over to the table. "Starving actually. Chuck was iffy when I mentioned Korean food but I told him it was going to be fine."

"Who's Chuck?" Minho asked as he wiped his palms on his pants, hoping they weren't sweaty. He busied himself with grabbing glasses for the beer, hoping that he didn't look too jealous.

"Chuck's my brother," Thomas replied as he walked over to Minho. "You have any brothers or sisters?"

"Oh," Minho said as he poured beer into a glass for Thomas. "Nope it's just me."

Thomas accepted the glass from Minho and raised it to him in a toast. "Good, don't wish for one. I love the little guy but sometimes he's a real pain to deal with."

Minho raised his glass and nodded. "Amen to that shank."

Thomas swallowed a sip of the beer and looked back at the table. "So what do we have on the table?"

Minho carried his glass over and plunked it down on the table. He gestured to the bowls and said, "So uh, I made Korean beef but I thought it would be safe to introduce it to you in a sort of build–your–own–taco style, so there's lettuce, cheese, this over here's kinda a hot sauce–"

"What's that in the jar?" Thomas asked as he pointed to the kimchi sealed tightly in its container.

"Uh yeah, that's um," Minho began as he scratched the back of his head, "yeah that's…kimchi. It's spicy cabbage that's been boiled and fermented but it's not for everyone – most of my friends don't like it but I do. You don't have–"

"Can I try it?" Thomas asked as he reached for a fork on one of the place settings.

"Ye-yeah," Minho stammered as he unscrewed the lid. He held the jar out to Thomas, who stabbed a piece of the kimchi onto his fork with a piece of the beef before putting it into his mouth.

Minho put the lid back on the jar as he watched Thomas chew the mouthful of kimchi and beef thoughtfully. He swallowed hard, waiting for Thomas to make a face, spit it out, or swallow it quickly before demanding a glass of water like everyone else.

Thomas swallowed the mouthful and licked his lips to catch the drip of spicy marinade on the bottom lip.

"That was really good," Thomas said with a smile. "It's got a nice bite to it – you make that kimchi yourself?"

Minho blinked as he stared at the guy in shock if not with a little awe. Did this Greenie really say he liked kimchi and possibly Minho's cooking?

"Yeah, yeah I do," Minho said as he set the jar down. "I think you're – hmmpph!" His words were cut off as Thomas stepped forward and pressed his lips firmly against Minho's.

Minho's eyes widened when the Greenie kissed him out of the blue but he wasn't complaining about those soft lips touching his. He rested his hands on Thomas's shoulders and he leaned into the kiss. He wouldn't say he loved kimchi but when it was on Thomas's soft lips, it was hard to not like it even more…

Thomas moved away and Minho heard a loud growling sound. Thomas smiled sheepishly at Minho and he looked back at the table before meeting Minho's eyes.

"Sorry, that was me," Thomas apologized. "I kinda got excited/nervous about this dinner deal that I hardly ate lunch. Um, yeah can we eat now?"

Minho laughed as he slapped Thomas on the shoulder. "Yeah 'course we can Greenie, that's why I spent so much time cooking before today."

"How much time are we talking?"

Minho blushed and he rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about how long it took to prep everything. "Uh…maybe a week? The kimchi took the longest – I tend to let it ferment for 3 days min, 5 max. The rest was kinda easy but I got sorta nervous about the food being too weird or complex for you, so I tried thinking of something that seemed more familiar."

"Are you kidding me Min? I really like it!" Thomas said as he sat down across from Minho. "Probably some of the best home–cooked food I've ever had!"

Minho grinned as he moved his chair closer to the table. "So uh, not that I minded, but what was with the kiss shank?"

Thomas reached for a tortilla and placed it on his plate. He added a heaping forkful of beef, spicy pepper paste, and unscrewed the lid from the kimchi jar. As he spooned out some of the cabbage, he met Minho's eyes.

"Wanted to pay my compliments for the food by 'kissing the cook'," Thomas replied with a wink.


End file.
